Page 42 of Off Limits (Alpha Billionaire)

Jessica turned and knelt down by the pool. A moment later, she had Max out of the pool and sitting at its edge. An inflated tube was around his middle. A sense of relief made itself known, but it was a mild one. Max was safe, but clearly, Jessica was not.

I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone of their voices was tense.

Max swiveled and saw me. He bolted to his feet and ran toward me. “Daddy!”

“Max!” Jessica reached for him as he made his dash to me.

I swung Max up into my arms. He was all wet, and now, so was I.

“What’s going on here?” I asked as I strode up to the two arguing.

“Are you gonna swim with me? I want to swim,” Max whined.

“In a bit.” I set him back down. “Go sit on the edge and put your feet in.”

“Oh, look, the gang’s all here,” Carmichael said.

“I thought you were in the city,” I commented.

He shrugged. “I never said where I was. I just happened to be in the area. You know I have a very important presentation being considered, and I wanted to be close in case there were any questions.”

I narrowed my eyes. There was nothing about his presentation that needed him to be here. We could handle everything over the phone or by email. I was beginning to suspect he wasn’t as forthright as he claimed to be. Maybe Jessica hadn’t been overreacting when she told me about being afraid of him.

“I was just explaining to Jessica here that I understand the two of you have decided to become an item.”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I said.

“It’s not. I keep telling him he needs to leave,” Jessica said.

“I know why she’s here. But how did you happen to be at the same hotel? Coincidence?” I asked. I tried to keep my voice low and even. I wasn’t hiding the anger I felt very well.

“Funniest thing. No, I’m not staying at this hotel. It’s got style, if that’s what you’d call it. I prefer the ones that have room service. I was sitting minding my own business, enjoying a long lunch after going over numbers with a hysterical client who doesn’t understand how spreadsheets work”—the barb was not lost on me—“when I looked up and saw Jessica with this kid strolling by. As I know you now know, I used to be good friends with Jessica. I wanted to say hello, maybe catch up. But the next time I saw her, they seemed to be in a hurry. I tried to catch up, but… anyway, long story short, I was surprised to see her car at this charming hotel when I drove past. So, I decided to get a drink at the bar and wait to see if she came out to the pool. And this is where we are now.”

He said the words so calmly, but he was a snake. This hotel was not situated on the main road. One didn’t simply drive past it and see the cars in the lot. If he found Jessica here, it was because he followed her.

“Let’s not mince words or play games. What do you want?” I asked.

“I came to let Jessica know her little fun and games were up. You know all about her now. I felt obliged to let her know that her job was most likely in danger, and she should enjoy her limited time in luxury while she can.”

Jessica turned panicked eyes to me. “I told you everything,” she said.

I reached out and touched her arm. “I know you did. And I believe you. Ryan and I spoke this morning, so unless there is more information to come out…” I didn’t know what else to say. I knew the worst of it. It made no sense for Ryan to be terrorizing Jessica.

“I’m sure she didn’t tell you everything. What would you say if I told you that she was still working for me? That she was in your house to find leverage for me to get you to sign that deal?”

That’s where he slipped up.

“You’re lying! He’s lying!” Jessica sounded on the verge of tears.

“Why would you need leverage for a deal that was a sure thing?” I asked. He thought he could strong arm me into what? Signing over a large percentage of the split? If anything, this little maneuver of his was going to cost him the deal.

“Stop dragging your feet, Dylan. That bullshit this morning was just wasting my time. And Jessica here isn’t as sweet as you think. She’s not some innocent victim. And if I didn’t plant her as a spy into your house, you should be asking yourself who did?” he snarled.

“If that deal means so much to you, you need to walk away from this place right now. As it is, I’m going to recommend a full audit of your company before we proceed.”

“You’re going to pick a piece of cheap, fat ass over a multi-million deal? I’ll sue you for breach of contract so hard, you’ll never be able to make another development deal with me and my lawyers breathing down your neck and letting the world know you stole the idea from me.”

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